Chapter twenty nine:
Over the next few days Raven improved slowly but surely, she had continued to do her homework and school work with Darling's help. Once Raven grew stronger, she gradually began to return to her classes. Her return to lessons had been met with great cheer from her fellow students.
A week and a half after Raven's capture by her mother, she let Briar know that she was completely better and as was often the way with the party Queen of Ever After High she threw a party to celebrate Raven's recovery.
There of course had been question from various students about what had happened to them. In the end Darling and Raven had simply told all who asked that due to a trial which they had undergone and did not wish to discuss at this time, they had discovered they were not only true loves, but also the first fairy tale couple to be soulmates which had resulted in them needing to be close together.
It had taken quite a while for the questions from all the others to stop. Blondie however wouldn't stop asking Darling and Raven questions about what had happened to them. Despite several polite attempts on the part of both Darling and Raven to get Blondie to cease making inquiries of them, but she would not. In the end the reporter only stopped asking her questions of the couple, when Darling had threatened to do her duty as Raven's shield and dump her in to a vat of troll's tears.
At the end of the second week of her recovery Raven turned to Darling as they sat together on a bench after class one evening watching the sunset together and said to her in a gentle voice. "If you are feeling up to it my Charming lady knight my father would like to come to the school to see us both. He really wants to meet you."
Darling put her arm around Raven, she drew her closer to her side. Raven reacted to this by letting out a contented sigh and laying her head onto Darling's shoulder. After a few moments of silence Darling said. "I'd love to meet your father. When was he thinking of coming to visit?"
Raven answered this question in a soft voice. "Father said we could choose a day that suited us both and he would come then. He wants us to be comfortable with his visit."
"Well…Next weekend is fine by me." Darling told her in a gentle voice.
Raven nodded as she replied. "Okay, I'll message my father later to let him know, then he can tell us which day of the weekend he wants to come."
The couple lapsed back into a companionable silence and carried on watching the sunset together.
The next Saturday Raven's father came to visit Darling and Raven. Darling and Raven stood side by side at the bottom of the steps leading up into the castle waiting for Stephan to arrive. The moment Stephan exited his car a few moments later Darling could instantly see similarities between Raven and her father.
Quickly Stephan made his way up to Darling and Raven, he hugged his daughter, smiling warmly as he did so. When father and daughter broke the hug, he turned to look at Darling. As she looked up into his deep purple eyes Darling got the impression that Stephan was looking directly into her soul. After a few timeless moments Stephan nodded, he smiled at Darling warmly and addressed her. "So, you are Darling Charming, my daughters one and only."
"Yes, I am sire." Darling answered, as she spoke Darling bowed politely to him and then said courteously. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last sire."
Quickly Stephan held both hands up in a forestalling gesture and said in a cheerful voice. "Please Darling less of the sire. You shall be joining our family soon, so please call me Stephan. The rumours of your beauty do not do you justice Darling. You have the grateful thanks of both myself and the kingdom for saving our beloved princess from a terrible fate."
"Raven is my true love and I am hers…I swore to be her sword and shield, I would never desert her or stop trying to rescue her as long as live." Darling assured Stephan in a sure and steady voice.
Stephan assented his head to her in a nod of acceptance. "I would expect no less, especially of a Charming. I am pleased to know that you will be the one to stand beside Raven for the rest of her life. My daughter informed me that she had knighted you into order of the dragon."
Darling took one of Raven's hands into hers, cast her a loving look and then said to Stephan. "I am glad to know that you accept me as Raven's life partner. Yes, she did knight me into the order of the Dragon, I am honoured to be a part of it."
"Good…I wonder…Raven did you tell Darling about Sir Kay?" Stephan asked her with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a knowing smile curving up his lips.
Raven chuckled softly, as she shook her head. "No father, I have not."
"Sir Kay? What about him?" Darling asked them both clearly very confused.
It was Stephan who answered these questions. "Kay was no he Darling…Well that's not exactly true the first Kay was, but not his heir. The second Key who took his place on the round table…That Kay was a she and she served the round table and Arthur as a full sir."
"Sir Kay was a female knight?" Darling inquired in utter shock.
Stephan nodded too Darling. "Yes, she was, most kingdoms thought that she was male and well Kay just never bothered to correct the assumptions others made about her. The whole of Realm knew about her though, she has her own day of celebration like all the other knights of the table do. Many young women in Realm still look up to her as a role model. From all the records we have of the events surrounding the round table's knights and their various adventures, Kay was always treated as an equal by them all."
Darling was completely stunned by this news, but at the same time it thrilled her to know that she was not the first female knight to exist in Realm. "Wow, that's so amazing."
Smiling widely at Darling Stephan nodded in agreement. "Since my daughter plans to reinstate the round table and the all of the kingdom is behind her idea, I thought you might like to know that it is possible to have female members of the round table."
"Oh, I know a fair few damsels here at school, who will be thrilled to know that there has been a strong female warrior before them and that she was accepted as an equal member to the round table." Darling told Stephan with enthusiasm while returning his wide smile.
"I can imagine they would." Stephan said with amusement.
Darling found herself rather surprised by these words from him and asked. "So, you don't object the Rebel cause?"
Stephan shook his head. "No, I do not. I knew that something like this was necessary for a long time, especially if I wanted my daughter to be spared the fate of being the Evil Queen. As Raven grew it became very clear to me that she had a good heart and gentle soul…She was nothing like her mother…But more like one of the graceful fairy tale princesses or one of the regal, but kind Queens."
Raven blushed delicately as her father said this and groaned out. "Father…"
"What, it's true my brilliant hearted princess." Stephan told her honestly.
Darling nodded as he spoke. "Your father is right, you exude the same kind of feeling as a chivalrous, romantic fairy tale Queen would and we know from my knighting that not only can you act in the manor of one, but that you will come to look just like one."
"Oh?" Stephan enquired with great interest evident in this simple enquiry.
With a soft smile for him Darling brought her mirror phone out, she tapped a few times, then held the phone out to Stephan. He accepted the phone from Darling and the moment he set eyes on Raven's outfit for the day of Darling's knighting his eyes widened. "Oh, my little bird…You look…You look so exquisite. So grown up and fairer than your ancestor was in her time. I am thrilled to think that one day you will show yourself to all the kingdoms in this way and that when they see you, they will all know without a doubt that you are a good person."
Raven smiled at her father, but sighed at the same time. "I just wish my goodness did not have to show on the outside for others to believe it…But unfortunately that is the way this world is."
Darling and Stephan, both gave her sympathetic looks. Darling hugged Raven gently, but firmly, as she said to her softly. "I and all your friends know that you are a wonderful and good person no matter how you look."
"Thank you Darling." Raven said to her in a grateful voice, as she returned the hug.
Slowly the broke the hug, then stood facing Stephan once more, while they held hands. Stephan smiled softly at the couple and then asked them. "Shall we go and have lunch now?"
"That sounds wonderful to me father." Raven said in agreement, while Darling nodded in agreement.
Together they set off towards Book end together so that they could have a meal together. The three of them chatted casually over the meal and the more that Stephan witnessed of Raven and Darling's relationship, the more his happiness for his daughter grew.
Stephan felt sure that Darling would love and take excellent care of Raven. For him it was truly wonderful to know that Raven had found someone who loved her as she was, whom would protect her no matter what and would support Raven to fulfil her dreams for the future.
It was very clear to him that the messages from his daughter about their deep love and growing relationship, had been nothing but the true and that he had absolutely nothing to fear by letting Raven and Darling become betrothed to each other.
When they finished eating Raven, Darling and Stephan walked back towards the school where the car was waiting to pick Stephan back up. When they reached the car Stephan turned, he hugged Raven warmly, then turned to Darling and drew her into a hug. As the hug was broken and Darling made her way back to Raven's side Stephan spoke too Darling. "I am glad that I was able to meet you Darling. You are all I could ask for and more for my daughter and I look forwards to you formally joining our family."
"Thank you Stephan and it was wonderful to meet you too. I also cannot wait until I am able to become a member of your family." Darling responded honestly.
With a wave for them both Stephan got into the car. Darling and Raven waved goodbye to him until the car was out of sight and then started to make their way back inside.
"Well, that went excellently." Raven said with a delighted smile on her face.
Darling nodded her agreement. "It certainly did. I like your father Raven and I can see where a lot of your personality has come from. I can tell he is a good man, who just wanted to make sure that his only daughter and heir was going to be loved and looked after for the rest of her life by the one fate had chosen for her."
Raven gave her a happy smile. "I am glad that you like my father and understood his concerns about our relationship…I want to know reassured him…"
Before she could descend into worry Darling interrupted her in a reassuring voice. "My love, you really don't need to worry that I took some offence by what he said or that I thought you wouldn't have wanted to reassure him about our relationship. I expected your father to want to be sure for himself that you were happy and that we would be alright together."
All at once a tension which she hadn't known she was carrying around that day left Raven and she let out a sigh of relief. Smiling softly Darling took Raven's hand into her and squeezed it gently and reassuringly before tugging her back inside the school.
